5/01/2013- The First Blog
This is my first entry and it will probably be a bit awkward, but hopefully as I progress my writing will get better. The reason I am writing this blog is to keep my freinds and family up to date with my trip to Africa, in which I will be apart of the Watoto 360 program. In all honesty I am not sure what the program is totally about and what exactly we will be doing so you will learn as I do. What I do know is that it is a program designed to give young christian people a heading in life of what God's will is for our lives and to create leaders who will in turn help their community and so on like a ripple effect.
I first heard about the program when the Watoto children choir came to Longreach. I fell in love with the kids, the dancing, singing and I really wanted to do something with Watoto. The show was nearing the end and as I sat there God said to me ' If I opened a door so that you could go to Watoto and do something, would you do it'. In my heart and head I said "yes " and no sooner had I given answer, an advertisement about Watoto 360 popped up on the projector screen and there it was; the door was opened. I also started sponsoring a child that night. His name is Reagen Okello and I chose him because he had a great smile. From that night I started to prepare myself, getting the paper work going and increased my saving. At the start of the year when I heard about it I had no idea what I wanted to do so I just decided to have a gap year and of course in God's perfect timing the 2013 Watoto 360 program fits in perfectly, so I praise him for opening up such a fantastic door. My mum has helped me so much organizing things I didn't even know existed and keeping the process moving, so a big thanks to her. I have been preparing for it for so long and it has been this thing that's happening in the future; but here I am, now three days away and I still don't feel that excitement or fear just nothing because it doesn't feel like it's nearly here. There is so much to think about when you are traveling, there is vaccinations, a passport, appropriate clothes, medicines, a new phone Sim, a blog or journal, getting uni stuff finalized, buying an electricity adapter, locks with a number code in case you lose the keys, making three copy's of all your paperwork, getting a travel keycard, buying a torch that is wind up or is small and good, knowing that you need to have American dollars to convert to Ugandan Shillings, money for an entry visa and then there are customs in Uganda for example where it is common for man to hold hands as a sign of friendship but illegal to be homosexual and that's just the start! However I know God has me in his best interests and will look after me over the five months and above all inspire me to change into a better person.
My father Jason said I should write down what I think it will be like and what I want to achieve before I go and then what I have achieved and how I have changed afterwords. So I will make a list of these things; what it might be like, how I want to change and what I want to achieve.
-I don't want to take everything for granted, I want to be more thankful for my privileged life in Australia.
-I want meet lots of new and different people that will challenge my personality, what I believe and even change me for the better along with making life long freinds.
-I want to come out a more loving, kind, relaxed, fun and adventurous person.
-I want to help people whilst I'm over there and learn to give more than I get.
-I want to be more mature by being, emotionally dependent on myself, have more self control, be more responsible for my actions and be able to make good decisions, be productive with every waking moment, be wise with how I conduct myself and be a person who you want to be around.
-I want to have memories I will never forget.
-I don't want to judge people because there different to me.
-I want to experience sadness, happiness, inspiration, be irritated, be loved, love, care for someone, be scared, be lost, feel warm and fuzziness, follow, lead, forgive, forget, remember and every other emotion while I'm away so that when I come back I will have learnt to deal with each in the best way possible.
-I want to learn new things; things that are useful, strange, different, unhelpful and inspiring.
-But above all I want to enter a new dimension of my faith with a strong intimacy with God , have sanctification with God, know his will for my life and be more like Jesus everyday.
10/01/13-#2 Every journey starts with a step
So much has happened in the last two days and I have
experienced so much. I’ve been pushed out of my comfort zone more than ever,
but I can be sure that God’s hands have been there to guide me the whole way. I
will have to just start at the beginning to tell you everything, because there
is a lot to tell. On the 7/1/13 I packed my bag, putting my larger items in the
bottom and my clothes in the top and then my more precious items in my backpack
which would be carry on. Only one problem: on our home scales my bag and
backpack weighed 33kg and with a limit of 30kg. I had to rethink what I was
taking, with my mum’s help as well. On my last full day in Australia I did some
shopping for last minutes items, had my last hep b needle, bought Dots for
lunch (a local delicacy in Longreach) and fluffed around in that awkward time
before I would leave. That night I lay in bed thinking about how this was my
last night in my own bed, how this was the last night I would stare at my
photos and paintings, would have dinner at home and how this was the end of my
last day. The big day came (8/1/13) and I had to repack my bag, taking out some
things to meet the allowed weight. I know that it sounds like I must have been
taking a lot, but I only have a few clothes that could fit maybe two shoe
boxes, my medication and toiletries and a few other bits and bobs. We had
breakfast and there was a bit of emotion as Mum’s dreaded day had come, and
although she wants me to go, like in all mothers there is an instinct to hold
her children tight and never let go. There were a few other moments like these and
we talked about it. We came to the conclusion that Mum was going to cry at the
airport and that I knew she would be ok, so I wouldn’t have the urge to cry. We
did however buy two goldfish that morning for the lonely goldfish I had at home
which has been transferred to the living room. I thought that was fun. You
think you’re going to be super busy right before you go, however it’s like this
awkward lull before the storm. You can’t do anything because it’s all packed
away and you don’t know what to do with yourself. But soon enough the time came
to load the car and with one last toasted sandwich (ham, cheese, mushrooms,
onion, tomato, salt & pepper and two pieces of buttered bread) and last
goodbye to my home, we left. We talked to Marie Scutt at the airport for a while
and then went through security before sitting down to wait for the plane to
come in. All was well with small talk going on, Riley searching for money in
the Coke machine and Minnie playing dead. Then at about quarter to two, they
called my flight and the game was on. Mum inevitably cried, so I had to be
strong in order to not be a mess as I walked to the plane. I did feel that
blasted lump in my throat rise and tears peaking in my eyes. I made it onto the
plane and was able to calm myself down as I played Angry Birds on my iPad. It
probably sounds tough that there was a bit of emotion going around, but I think
it may have been harder or sadder if there wasn’t, because that way at least
you know you’re wanted and people will miss you. I was talking to one of my
best friends about leaving and it occurred to me that my biggest fear was being
forgotten whilst I was gone.
I landed in Brisbane at around five from what I can remember
and got on a bus to go to the airport. I realised how serious and real it was.
I can also remember feeling guilty because I wasn’t sad to be leaving Longreach;
I was just too excited. I was in a surreal world, because it was this thing
that I had been planning for months and here it was. I walked through the
airport and out of crowed jumps Kylie! We had organised with her to help me get
from point A to point B, so I was looking out for her and it was fantastic to
see her. We walked and talked about everything in our half an hour time frame,
so a bit like speed catch up. We got to the national airport and saw Jerry
(Kylie’s husband) working on his job whilst we drove past. The Cavils were
waiting, so it was nice to see them. We checked in my bag, and I was a bit
taken back by how simple it all was and uncertain if there was some catch I had
missed. We sat down and I took in the surroundings, the conversation and the
energy of everything (I will use the term energy a lot throughout this blog,
and just to make things clear I’m not referring to like hippie Buddha energy,
but the vibe and spiritual feel of something). We ate some chips, swapped to my
new international number, I went to the toilet and we all talked. Soon enough I
left to go through security and that part of the process. Kylie gave me the
most helpful bit of advice. It’s simple, but often not thought of. “Just ask
questions about everything,” and I did. I would like to say a big thank you to
Kylie for getting me to the international airport, for her advice and
reassuring words and Mr. and Mrs. Cavil for their help and support. I then
walked a marathon to my gate (the international airport in Brisbane is huge)
and this is where my new friend Christie enters. As I came to my gate, I was curious
to see who else was going on my flight as they weren’t very many people there.
I can’t remember exactly how the conversation went, but I think it went
something like this...
Jack asked “Excuse me, but are you going to Dubai?”
Christine answered “Yes, I am going to (somewhere in
Europe), you?”
Jack replied “I am going to Uganda for a program called
Watoto 360”
She then delightfully connected the dots “You’re a
Christian; so am I”.
And the conversation took off from there. How awesome was
that? The first person that I talked to was a Christian who was on the same
wavelength as me and was (I think) looking for some company while she waited as
well. We talked about our families and our lives and then I rang my mum to tell
her I was okay and what was going on, and Christine talked to her as well. We
then talked some more and boarded the plane at about 9:00 pm. This was my first
experience on a plane this size and I was really excited. There were heaps of
seats, you could watch movies & TV & music; they served you fare-dinkum
meals with drinks and different courses; it was crazy-cool. I sat between an
oil engineer on the right, who was really nice, and a Muslim lady who was also
very nice. During the middle of the night I had to go to the toilet so I was
going ninja over the Muslim lady who was asleep and made it into the aisle, but
of course my foot lightly clipped her leg. She woke up in a jump, but she was
cool and I went to the toilet. The 14 hours went by pretty quick in hindsight and
I watched the journey on the digital map; we were flying at 900+km/h a lot of
the way. We then landed in Dubai, and it was crazy to think that I wasn’t in
Australia any more as I watched the bazillion lights from the window. I then met back up with Christine and the oil
engineer who then helped me through the customs and everything. Christine then
went to her gate and I walked around with the oil engineer (I cannot for the
life of me remember his name, but he was awesome) who showed me where you could
buy a block of gold and gave me a general tour of the airport. He then had to
go, and my darn gate number hadn’t become public yet, so I bought some water,
two postcards (where I got some Dubai money; score!). I walked around some more
and then went to my gate. I felt a bit awkward at the time because I didn’t
know anyone (not to be racist but I was a white spot on a black wall). We then started
boarding, where we had to get a bus to our plane. Me and this other girl were
going to take a picture of the plane, and this guy was like “No pictures!”;
nearly thought he was going to kill us, but he didn’t. I slept a lot on the
plane (even though it was only five hours) and watched movies.
So now this is where things got a bit awkward and pushed
me off the edge of my comfort zone. I flew into Entebbe at about maybe 2:00 pm.
I walked off the plane into customs where I filled out my visa, although it was
a bit vacant with some details because I didn’t know. So in hindsight I should
have had better knowledge of what I was doing and what I needed to present. I
then lined up and told the man what I was there for and asked what he needed to
see. Of course I think the biggest problem here was the language barrier. Because
he was the first person I talked to, I could hardly understand him and he could
hardly understand me. He wasn’t very good because he wouldn’t let me talk, and
when I paid my visa he forgot I had and asked me if I had paid. Then he gave me
only one month instead of the three I was supposed to get, and because by that
point I was very flustered I didn’t think to question him or anything. I went
to the baggage claim and got my bag. There was no customs or anything and I was
a bit unsure of that, but just went along with where I was told to go. I then
went to the huge crowd of Ugandans who all had signs looking for people. I
searched everyone inside and then went outside. After a few minutes it dawned
on me: there weren’t any Watoto 360 signs. I started to freak out.
I would say I am
pretty good under pressure, but this was nearly too much for me and I praise
God that he had the situation under control. I was in a different country, with
people I could hardly understand, who had different skin than me and had a
totally different culture and code of general conduct. I was outside thinking “What
the hell is going on?!” You can imagine what was going through my mind that
naturally blows everything out of proportion. I wondered if it was all a scam.
Was I about to be abducted, would I be put in jail, be sent home, mugged, die,
freak out and faint, or just explode? I am not even exaggerating; all those
thoughts were running through my mind, but then survival mode kicked in. I needed
to find out where Peter Eseet was and I needed some sort of protection or
dominance to make me feel better and not look vulnerable. A man came over and
asked me if I wanted a taxi and where I was going. Straight away I thought he
was a scammer and trying to get my money. I was suspicious as I answered his
questions. I discovered that his job was to help people get to where they
needed to be and do everything in his power to achieve that one goal. I told him
my story and even had to write “Watoto 360” on my hand to get the message
across. He eventually got it and tried ringing Peter. After some cuffufal we
got onto him.
I could barley understand him over the mobile, and I
believe the Holy Spirit helped me understand this one phrase, “Stay where you
are and don’t get into a taxi, I will be 45 minutes.” That’s exactly what I
did. I set my alarm for an hour and a half and sat down on my bag. The airport
man had put me in this little area beside the door, where I would be out of the
way and safe. At this point I was somewhat relieved that everything was
starting to work out and for the moment I could chill out to some extent. As I
sat there an armed policemen walked by just in front of me, which freaked me
out. I started convincing myself that he would shoot me. (Why? Just because he
could.) When you’re not used to such things and you’re expecting them to react
the way the media portrays such countries you instantly start to freak out (I
did but only in my head). Looking back as I write this, I am starting to
understand among other things that the media blow things out of proportion and
don’t give a balanced overview of a country’s good and bad side. Uganda does
have issues, but at the same time they are stable and things are getting better
from what I have seen in this short while. And I also saw a monkey in a tree
probably 10 metres from where I was sitting, so that was cool. Then it chased a
cat which, I thought was funny.
After maybe an hour, the man came over and asked how much
longer Peter would be. Of course I had as much of an idea as he did and he kept
saying that I should have taken a taxi or something like that because there was
no way Peter would be able to make it from Kampala to Entebbe in 45 minutes.
The man then rang Peter again, except this time Peter was less than 30 meters
away walking along the path towards us. Talk about hope and happiness! I could
have cried if I wasn’t mad, scared and shell shocked. I had expected Peter to
be much shorter, but he was huge and he looked pretty awesome and then he
spoke. I had this idea in my mind that I would be having words or something,
but his voice had this way of just calming and reassuring me and I instantly
forgot all my worries. At that point I was just excited that plans were falling
into place.
I’m not sure if I
have already said this but I was praying the whole time and God kept saying one
thing ‘Take faith, all will be revealed’. And it did. What happened was the guy
meant to be picking me up had forgotten or something and went and done
something else. I forget the whole story, but I then rang Peter the first time
and then a couple of times and he saw that he was getting a call from the
airport and I think dropped what he was doing and left for Entebbe airport. He
said he was on his way to somewhere else and so he was already half way. After
he picked me up there was a bit of a drive to Entebbe and this is where the
culture shock really started. The driving is insane; it’s like an ant hill of
transportation vehicles going different places in contrast to Australian roads
which are like a computer with specific directions and speeds.
I arrived at the house in which we would be staying and
much to my surprise it was large, with a giant barbed wire wall and lush lawn
and gardens. Inside I was greeted by the other internationals, Esther (our
house mother) and Kevin (our cook and cleaner). The house has two storey level
with many rooms and bathrooms. I was shown to my room which has its own
bathroom and is quiet spacious. The
house is really nice and in a way I don’t feel like I have left Australia. It
is hard to understand and accept that I am in a different country and looking
back the flight wasn’t as long as one might think. Anyway that’s the beginning
so far, hope you get a glimpse of the journey so far.
12/01/2013- The Culture shock
I had never intended to judge anyone or anything or to
have culture shock by the way things are done here. But yesterday was my first
full day and I can tell you I am feeling a bit emotionally and spiritually numb
and physically exhausted. The culture shock isn’t like some big bang, where you
are noticeably taken back by big things, but is instead all the little things.
It’s the body language, the accent, everyone is black (I’m not being racist but
when you’re one of eight white spots on a black wall it’s a bit daunting) the
food, people being overly friendly and grabbing your hand and lingering (which
is just normal here), that we have a gardener who will sweep the whole yard and
drive way with this tiny bundle of straw (which for us would be impractical)
and that you can see a monkey in a tree all take their toll. Culture shock is
when you just feel overwhelmed, numb and like you’re in this crazy dream. You
are consciously able to do everything normally but your heart finds it hard to
connect with things because everything is so different to what you are used to.
So much has happened, so I will just talk about a few random things that have
taken me by surprise.
Food- I had my first real taste of African food today.
There were these giant tubs of a banana mash called Mutoke. It was alright at
first and had the texture of mashed potato, but the after taste was tangy and
sour, which wasn’t satisfying. Rice was also another major piece to this dish
and because I love rice, I enjoyed that part and it wasn’t too different from
what I am used to. Then there was this green stringy side salad, which I am
assuming is a mixture of onion and cabbage. It tastes like onion and isn’t too
out of the ordinary. Then there were two sauces that were incredible (Kylie you
need to add these to your flavours list). The first was watery vegetable gravy,
which was salty (like gravy) but had this intense mix of vegetable flavours. It
was wonderful because the flavours worked together instead of overwhelming your
tongue and was poured over the rice to add a bit of flavour, I assume. The second
was a pink/maroon sauce that tasted like nuts and is was just wonderful. It was
thick and placed over the yellow banana mash. There was a piece of green sweet
potato, which indeed was very sweet and it was thick and dry in texture. Then
there were two chunks of marinated meat, which, we were all assuming that it
was beef. They were marinated in a vegetable sauce and quite nice if your piece
wasn’t just fat and gristle like one of mine.
Driving- The driving here in Uganda is insane, crazy and
dangerous. It is like road range on those Xbox games, but for real. People on
boda bodas (motorbikes) weaving in and out of the cars, buses and trucks, which
are swerving all over the road and traffic also going both directions and
everything is just a near miss, but people never get hit from what I have seen
and heard. There are no lines or traffic lights. There are pot holes everywhere
(filled with debris like plastic bags cement chunks, old clothes, shoes etc.)
and people park and drive where ever they please. So I will not be behind the
wheel or walking across the road.
The people- I am finding it really hard to understand,
communicate and relate to the Ugandan people. Even though everyone speaks
English they have an accent, which to me, makes their words sounds muffled and
unpronounced. I can hardly understand them and a simple question can take five
minutes to answer because I have to keep asking them to restate their question
and then I have to keep restating my answer until enough words have been
understood to satisfy each party. Of course it’s not all their fault. My
Australian accent would be hard to understand for them; as they say it takes
two to tango. Also the Watoto church is a very passionate and loud church so
you have preachers preaching at a hundred miles an hour and I can only seem to
catch the words “Jesus,” “Amen,” “stand up,” and “give an applause for Jesus,”
amongst other words. I have had a conversation with a girl called Rosemary and
we were able to swap some information about both of our countries. I also find
it hard to relate to them at the moment, because I don’t know their humour,
what might be offensive and even just interest topics. But I think as time goes
on, I will tune in on their accent, my accent will change to accommodate for
Ugandans and I will be so immersed in their culture that I will have no option
but to discover the ins and outs of small talk.
The other internationals that I live with have been here
for a week already, so they are settled in and have their own group. I guess in
way I am staying a bit introverted and reserved for the moment until I find my
spot and learn a bit more about them. Just kidding, I am super sassy and
sarcastic and I’m making fun of Thomas and making Natalie edit my five page
blog right now. True siblings. There are three Canadians (all beautiful girls:
Jess, Emily and Danielle), four Americans (also three beautiful girls: Hannah,
Natalie [my favourite] and Callie) and one other guy (who is really nice:
Thomas) and then there is Esther, who is our acting mother, our fantastic cook,
Kevin, who is just precious and a pimp groundsman called Simon. Our house is
really big and has like a bazillion rooms and bathrooms. The Watoto church is
really big as well and is made up of Watoto central (I have only been there so
far), East, West, North and South which I haven’t been to yet. My first time at
the church there was a big youth week going on, but I didn’t know that at the
time and just assumed that was church. The music was loud and we were there
from like 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, so as you can imagine I was exhausted. But I
have come to realise that church is much nicer and audible.
I am feeling okay, but also numb, emotional and a bit
stunned at so many new things. I have realised how much I do love my family,
friends and Australia, being in a new country and all. I have had a few moments
(no tears yet) and have even wanted to go home for a few minutes, just because
I miss everyone. However, at the same time it is great being free, in a sense,
and having my own adventure. I am really liking the fact that I am facing so
many challenges and that I am having to cope with them to survive emotionally
here. So even though I am not realising obvious changes I have changed heaps in
my short time here. I am scared, curious and excited at what the future here
holds and the many experiences that God will use to mould me whilst I am here.
I know God has brought me here for a reason and I hope that above all, I will
become closer to Christ and if that is all I achieve whilst I am here, then so
be it.
